Canadians are suckers for a good kiss

Canadians are suckers for a good kiss.

Photograph by: berc/Fotolia
, Fotoliacom

Fifty Shades of Grey may be making this the summer of sex, but a new survey shows what Canadians really crave is a kiss.

In polling 1,163 people across the country, romantic social network Zoosk finds nearly nine in 10 men and women wish their partner planted one on them more often. Curiously, both genders have the perception of taking the lead on lip-locks: the majority of women (55 per cent), as well as the majority of men (76 per cent), claim they typically initiate kissing in a relationship.

"Kissing is a great way to express your love without saying a word," says Shannon Tebb, a dating and relationship expert from Toronto.

"It can also lead to more intimacy, which is why I tell my clients they should really kiss their (partner) at least four times a day: when they wake up, before they leave each other, when they return to each other, and before bed."

The survey, conducted to mark International Kissing Day on July 6, shows fully 93 per cent of Canadians are comfortable with public displays of affection. The majority of women feel it's important to be with someone who's a good kisser, whereas men are more willing to overlook substandard smooches because their partner "might be better at other things."

Perhaps surprisingly, women claim to prefer French kisses (the tongue tango), while men are inclined to more "sensual" exchanges. Both sexes, however, agree that a kiss goodbye trumps a kiss hello.

The most common age for a first romantic kiss in Canada, according to the survey, is between 15 and 17 (35 per cent), followed by 18 and older (20 per cent), and 12 to 14 (31 per cent).

About half of Canadians will pucker up on a first date (54 per cent), whereas a separate sample of adults from Europe reveals it's far less common to do so overseas: just 29 per cent of Germans, 32 per cent of the French and 37 per cent of Danes say they kiss on a first date.

Finally, Canadians are clear on what they don't want in a kiss: bad breath, too much tongue, a wet or sloppy approach, brevity and — with apologies to Fifty Shades of Grey fans — biting.

The survey was conducted online May 11 to June 11 and has no reported margin of error.

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